1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to spline arrangements and, more specifically, a spline arrangement for rotatably coupling two members.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known to use splines to rotatably couple two separate members. A well known application of such a use of splines is found in front wheel drive automobiles. The transaxle assembly of such automobiles is often connected to the driven front wheels of the vehicle using two half shafts with constant velocity (“CV”) joints located at each end of the two half shafts. The CV joints typically include a shaft stub on the outer race having a male splined member that is used to couple the CV joint to either a side gear of the transaxle or a wheel hub. Both the side gear and wheel hub include a female splined opening for engaging the shaft stub of the CV joint. The two ends of the half shaft generally define male splines which are engaged with a female splined opening on the inner race of the CV joint. These splined connections transmit torque from the transaxle to the front wheels and it is undesirable for any of these splined connections to have any backlash or rotational play.
To prevent such backlash, it is common to dimension the splines so that they must be press-fit into engagement and are subject to elastic deformation by the press fit engagement. It is also common to dispose one set of the splines, typically the male splines, at a small helical angle while leaving the other set of splines parallel to the rotational axis to increase the interference between the two sets of splines when they are press fit together. While such use of “oversize” splines together with a helix angle has proven effective in rotationally coupling the CV joints in an acceptable backlash-free engagement, the press force required to engage the splines can be substantial and properly rotationally aligning the “oversize” splines when initiating their engagement can present difficulties during assembly.